Grá, Dílseacht, Cairdeas
by Arachniphobia16
Summary: (Love, loyalty, freindship) Darkness seeps back into evey corner of the world and a chill sweeps through mortal flesh and immortal bone. A peircing shriek in the dark heard not in the ears. The six pillars come together to fight, bound by blood and battle. The great shadow of doom covers the whole of earth, but whose doom is the one so rapidly approaching? Rating may go up.
1. Prologue

**Okie Dokie. This first bit** **turned out way more serious than I intended it to be. Don't worry it will have humor and drama and adventure and all that good stuff. Just give it time. Please see my profile for explanations if I do not update quickly. Please review and enjoy. It's a great little plot bunny that got turned into a dragon overnight.**

It was cold and dark and the thunder clashed deafeningly over the small hut in the midst of a dilapidated farmyard where the cattle roamed as they pleased that night. The cows were smarter than they looked and stayed well away from the farmhouse and wandered away into the foothills. The gate to their pen was supposed to have been closed, but the fence had been forgotten.

A jagged strip of lighting ripped its way across the night sky illuminating a young boy in the corner of the main room gripping tight to his mother. He paid no heed to the storm for he had seen many even within his short years of living, what brought forth his tears was his father's drunken rage.

He hurriedly wiped away his tears as they came into view lest he get his mother and himself in more trouble. His father was a big man, strong and sure of himself, had a temper to match his size as well and the small black haired boy had a few scars to show for it. His mother couldn't protect him from everything and when she tried his father would nearly kill her in his fit of anger.

Tonight, she had forgotten to close the cow pen. His mother was already sick and his blue eyes shone with worry at the thought of her having to go outside in the bitter cold.

"But, mommy is sick." He chanced a beating to possibly calm father down and leave his mother alone.

"Shut up boy! You'll get your own lesson after I give one to your mother!"

"Matei, you leave him alone! I've had enough of this! Now put down that filthy bottle!"

He could feel his mother's trembling beneath his hands. This was by far the scariest experience he had yet to endure and he hoped that it would end soon. He had a feeling it would end _very _badly though. This was not a night that they could be arguing and screaming and drawing attention to themselves. He remembered what his mother had always told him about this night.

_When dark creeps in and eats the light_

_Bury your fears on Sorry Night_

_For in the winter's blackest hours_

_ Comes the feasting of the Vours_

Tonight was Sorry Night. It was the only night of the year when mother would not go outside or light a fire. If mother was scared then he was scared. He was even more scared now, mother had never yelled at father.

As the lightning flashed again he saw a small face illuminated in the window. He was comforted by the small fact that his friend was outside. She had never been hurt on Sorry Night. She knew how to work around the dangers of this night. Most times she would've been secretly invited inside to play and explore his house that fascinated her so but tonight she would most likely sleep on the roof or sneak in through the window after father had fallen asleep.

Her name was Inmoon, it was a strange name to him but he liked it. It was a pretty name and it fit her. She was ragged looking on the surface with her matted brown hair, mud coated skin, and scant clothing of animal skins but her bright purple eyes always shone through. She had said that her parents had long since left her to die and a pack of wolves raised her. He didn't believe Inmoon at first until she introduced him to the wolf pack, her "family". It was frightening but he soon grew to like them.

Having Inmoon outside made him a little less scared but the calm didn't last as his mother was smacked to the floor, glass shards of the remains of his father's whiskey bottle flew everywhere. His mother refused to cry as her face bled from the abuse. His father gave her a swift kick to the ribs while continuing to scream.

"Who do think you are woman?! No one talks to me like that ANYONE, especially not some weak stupid disgusting WOMAN!" This was emphasized by another kick to the ribs.

His mother spit blood but still refused to cry.

"You're stupidity is going to ruin me. Do you know how long it's going to take to get those cows back in?" He grabbed her chin hard enough to bruise. "Sounds like you aren't pulling your weight around here Aurora. I think you need to spend some time outside doing your chores!"

He hauled her up by her black hair and dragged her toward to door in nothing but her white nightgown. The small boy made to grab his mother but one look from her blue eyes told him no, he needed to save himself. He saw Inmoon's tears reflecting in the brief flashes of lightning and made his decision. He had always followed his mother's orders but this time, this time she was wrong.

He ran forward, grabbed his father's wool coat and pulled as hard as he could screaming at him to let mother go and that she was sick. It did nothing and his mother's own screams were quickly deafened by the door between them. His father rounded on him and slapped him so hard his head smacked into the floor and he saw stars. He got up as quickly as he could and tried to run but his father grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, a cry of pain escaped the twelve year old boy's lips.

He could hear his mother pounding mercilessly on the door and screaming at father to let her in. Screaming at her husband and begging him to not hurt her child. He sat down at the kitchen table as if contemplating whether or not continue his onslaught on his family. The boy slid to the floor in a daze.

"Please." He spoke when his small trembling voice found him again. "Let Mommy inside."

This seemed to anger the drunken man even more as he stood up, eyes aflame with rage and all pointed toward the thin black haired boy slumped against the wall. He said nothing as he approached but the boy knew that his dad was angrier tonight than he had ever been. His raised his fist and with great crash and explosion of glass he was knocked off his feet. Inmoon scrambled back and crouched in front of the boy, letting out a snarl as Matei sat up to look at her.

She let out a furious howl of rage as she leaped on Matei's weakened form in a flurry of flashing teeth and well placed blows. Aurora's furious pounding at the door weakened and her screams changed.

"Stay inside Vlad! No matter what stay inside and keep quiet! DO AS I SAY! Stay inside! They're here, they're here! Be quiet!"

He felt a sudden chill seep into his body and freeze his very bones. He had been cold before, he did not have a plush life but this chill was different. Inmoon felt it too and she froze in her attack of his father whose face was now a clawed bloody mess. His father took this opportunity and threw her into the wall but she recovered quickly. Outside Aurora's screams had turned to terrified babble.

Suddenly there was fire and Inmoon was holding a small torch made of a broken chair leg and his father's whiskey.

"Foolish male," Her voice was surprising to someone who didn't know her, developing to be rich and smooth. "tonight the evil feasts, but not upon your female."

Vlad quickly looked around as the inhuman screeches grew louder, so loud in his head but the sound was not in his ears. His mother sounded more panicked now. He saw an abandoned bottle of liquor on the floor nearby, he scrambled to it opened the lid and threw it near his father. Inmoon threw the torch then grabbed Vlad by the back of his shirt and leaped out the window. The two ran around to the front of the house where his mother was now weakly hitting the door and she lay against it in the bitterly cold snowless night.

The wind blew straight through the pair as they ran to her, she was pale, her lips an icy blue. Inmoon stood straight upon seeing her and Vlad knew that they didn't have long. Inside the house Matei's screams became the stuff of nightmares as the howls grew louder and rose to shrieks in the night. The shadows moved inside the house with a mind of their own, reaching, clawing, fighting, but it was not the shadows that scared Vlad. It was the things making the noises and he dared not look inside. He tore his gaze away from the glass just as the worst of his father's screams tore through the night air and a spray of crimson coated the window.

His mother's deep sapphire eyes stared into his with a pleading look.

"Listen to me Vlad. You have to leave, run." She seemed to be choking and it broke his young heart to see his dear mother in such a state and it hurt even more to know that this would be the last time he would talk to his mother. "There will be more. The hunger of the Vours' is insatiable." She choked again and Vlad's tears froze on his face. He held tight to his mother, never wanting to let her go ever again. He couldn't, this was his fault. He had disobeyed her.

"We must leave soon." Inmoon stated and Vlad turned on her.

"How could you be so thoughtless Inmoon!? She's my mother! We can't leave her, we have to save her, we _have _to!"

"The evil will be done feasting soon and they will come for us if we do not run Vladislav!" It was the first time she had ever snarled at him. Now he understood why it was scary.

"Vlad." His mother wheezed. "Your friend is right." She continued to choke. "You must go."

"No…..I….I can't do it mother." His eyes started to freeze shut he was crying so much and he furiously struggled to keep his eyes open so as not to lose one second of memory of his dear mother.

"Vlad." Inmoon's voice was gentler than he had ever heard it. "We can show her one last kindness. It is one she so rightly deserves.

The boy looked at her expectantly but there was no hope as he cradled his mother's head in his lap. Suddenly there was a bone knife thrust into his vision, wielded by Inmoon.

"The fate of the Vours will be far worse than the fate of the knife. We must grant her this mercy. A swift death."

The poor boy shook his head at the absolute horror of the situation even more so as he felt a cold hand wrap his own around the blade. She pressed it to her throat and looked into her son's eyes with not even the barest hint of fear. His grip tightened on the blade as she began to softly sing.

_When the light begins to fade,  
And shadows fall across the sea,  
One bright star in the evening sky,  
Your love's light leads me on my way._

_There's a dream that will not sleep,_  
_A burning hope that will not die._  
_So I must go now with the wind,_  
_And leave you waiting on the tide._

_Time to fly, time to touch the sky._  
_One voice alone - a haunting cry._  
_One song, one star burning bright,_  
_Let it carry me through darkest night._

_Rain comes over the grey hills,_  
_And on the air, a soft goodbye._  
_Hear the song that I sing to you,_  
_When the time has come to fly._

_When I leave and take the wing,_  
_And find the land that fate will bring,_  
_The brightest star in the evening sky,_  
_Is your love waiting far for me_

He could tell that Inmoon thought they were taking too long as she shifted uneasily from foot to foot whilst the Vours continued to shriek and his father continued to scream. Aurora took a deep breath and Vlad swiftly slit her throat as visions of his father swirled in his head. This was his fault! ALL HIS FAULT! Suddenly the child felt glee instead of horror at his father's screams. Her blood splattered over his hands and chest and face. She was dead in a matter of seconds, her throat slit so deep her spin was half severed.

Inmoon quickly grabbed him and dragged him into the woods. He didn't remember most of the journey through the stinging cold and could only focus on the brightness of his mother's blood on his hands.

The next thing he was aware of was a stinging slap to his face and a worried expression held by Inmoon.

"We must run!" She sounded scared.

So he ran. He ran and ran and ran swallowing his fear like his mother told him. They found a small cave and hid in the back.

"I am sorry." She said after hours of sitting in silence.

Vlad just looked her in the eye and gave a small grateful smile. She didn't talk much and had used most of the extent of her vocabulary tonight and it was nearing dawn now. He was all she had now. Twelve years old and he didn't know what to do.

There was a sudden chill and Vlad spun around to entrance of the cave to see only glowing red symbols etched into inky blackness and fierce teeth. He heard the scream of Inmoon and everything grew dark.

**INTERMISSION INTERMISSION! GO GET A COKE OR GO TAKE A PEE INTERMISSION INTERMISSION!**

The aftershocks of a deafening roar of thunder still rocked the room as his face met painfully with the hard stone floor. He leaped to his feet and gasped for breath the remnants of the dream still rattling through his brain and every shadow became an enemy in his mind. It was night, he should have been up hours ago, why did no one wake him?

"Why do you insist on sleeping upside-down when you know you're going to have one of these moments? As fun as it is to see you face plant it's kinda stupid that you aren't learning." It was a familiar voice but wholly unexpected and it made him jump.

He spun around to the window to see her crouched like some kind of gargoyle and sharpening a small dagger. She was soaked to the bone.

"What are you doing out in the rain? Come inside and warm up." He waved his hand to light a fire in the fireplace and swing the balcony windows closed forcing her off the windowsill.

She gave out a small bark of laughter.

"Alright, but hey I'm no invalid. Just because I've been out in the rain doesn't mean I'm gonna drop dead." They sat down next to each other. "And I came because I knew it was getting close to that time of the year. I knew you'd be having those dreams again."

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"Eh I snuck in through the window, gagged the shrunken head and threw the chatty Kathy in the laundry bin."

Dracula couldn't help but laugh at that. Those shrunken heads annoyed him too.

They sat in companionable silence for a while simply warming themselves. She combed her clawed fingers through her drying fur and sorted through the collection of wood beads and stones braided into her hair as Dracula started up the next line of conversation.

"Do you see it too?" He turned to look at her.

"In the flames?" He nodded and her ears set flat against her head. "Yes but…I don't know what it means. It could mean a lot of things. Don't lose your head over it Drac." She wrapped her cloak back around herself. And handed him a blue rose.

Dracula gave her an odd look and noticed that her purple eyes shone with unshed tears.

"For her shrine. I thought it would look nice. Thought you'd appreciate it."

"You really thought about this visit didn't you? Thank you."

The room grew silent as he pressed a stone beside his and Martha's picture and the wall slid back to reveal a hidden room. He waved his hand to light the candles and it reveal a simple jagged bone knife on a stand. There were already several roses placed around the knife and both stood there for a moment before Vlad simply placed the rose in front of the bone knife bowed his head and left.

"She was nice, from what I saw."

He gave another short bark of laughter but this time it was empty.

"You were too scared to get close to her."

"I know."

"Have to get to my hotel, so many things planned. You're always welcome you know."

"I know, and you know I don't do well around people. They confuse me. I'll see you later." Without another word she swiftly ran to the window and leaped out.

"Goodbye Inmoon."

Just like that she was gone in flash of gleaming silver fur.

**Confused yet? I'm making up my own origin for Dracula and the other monster species, I mean they had to come from somewhere, the old tales of curses and evil don't really fit the characters, and monsters DO NOT spring out of holes in the ground. I have put a lot of thought into this, tell me if you like. GO HOTEL T!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Woooooow...I need to sleep, but it is not my friend. Lappy? I love you.**

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It wasn't something that needed any form of discussion, this was going to happen whether they liked it or not. He couldn't help but run through plans over and over in his head and just keep thinking about how totally awesome this was going to be.

"Never?" Johnny gasped gaping at the menacing figures before him.

"No…." Dracula answered hesitantly. "Is that a problem?"

"Monsters….who haven't seen a creature feature? Are you kidding me?! It's totally movie time man!"

The group of monsters looked at each other with unsure expressions painted on their faces. They may have allowed Johnny to stay and live with them and even date Mavis but that didn't mean that they had gotten over their fear of humans. Dracula and Frankenstein especially so. Sitting down and watching a human's point of view of them didn't sound all too thrilling. Apparently a lot of monster movies had been made over the centuries and even more books written. They were sorely tempted to say no but the look on Johnny's face told all of them that no was not an option. That didn't stop them from trying though.

"Johnny, I have a hotel that I need to take care of. I have no time for these things." Came Dracula's response.

"Yeah, and I was going to try and take a nap, kids really were a nightmare last night. Gotta sleep while I can." Wayne put out.

Griffin's glasses stealthily started to disappear.

"Guys come on!" Mavis blurted out. "Honestly they're kinda funny."

"Hey, I showed you the best ones! They were kinda scary…..kinda…..okay now that I look at it they are funny." Johnny shuffled his feet and pouted a bit.

"You could use a little down time." She put on a grin and gave her father a pointed look.

He opened his own mouth to argue but at the look he received from Mavis, clamped it shut with an audible snap. That was the scariest look he had ever received from her. At a glance out of the corner of his eye he saw that Wayne, Frank, and Murray had all backed away a small distance and Griffin's glasses had completely disappeared. Traitors! He glared at them and they all faked innocence, he even heard Griffin whistling. Johnny laughed, they'd all get it from him later.

"Come on dudes we got that new T.V. and D.V.D player when this place got electricity. Let's go. This is awesome!" Johnny ran off like greased lightning, his excited yells fading down the hall.

Mavis giggled in response and walked after. They all knew where they were headed so every monster went at their own pace. Dracula himself fell behind a fair distance as he considered just running off to care for his hotel. He had a lot of guests and it was still fairly early into the monster vacation season rush. He didn't really like the idea of running out on his guests.

"Hey!" The harsh whisper was followed by a hand on his shoulder.

He let out a startled shout and turned around swinging his unsheathed talons through the air. They caught on black fabric, tearing easily through as the cloaked person leaped away. Purple eyes glared at him from beneath the hood and he let out a tense breath. Before he could speak she snarled in his face baring her sharp teeth and throwing the hood back.

"A human?!" Inmoon growled. "Why is there a _human _here? This is supposed to be a _safe _place Vladislav! Have you lost your mind?! Don't you remember anything that they did to us?! All the reasons we have to be afraid of them!" She snarled and growled but her voice never rose above a whisper.

Dracula no longer cared about secrecy like she may have, those last few questions were out of line. His full set of teeth grew pointed and sharp as his eyes turned pitch black with reddened irises. The back of his suit tore open with a loud rip and his cape flew off as his wings unfurled behind him, the three inch long clawed tips pointing threateningly down at her. He rose above her and snarled back into her face as he bared his mouth of long dagger like teeth, his jaw grew wider to accommodate. It all took form in less than a second.

"How _dare _you!" His own accent was worsened by the teeth and any S became a short spit filled hiss as a deep rumble sounded in his chest. "You think that I would simply forget what _they_," He spat the word out into her face. "have done to me!? _They killed Martha_! Mercilessly, and you know they would have killed Mavis if I hadn't done what I did. I hold no regrets about it either!"

He slammed the clawed tips of his wings into her shoulders, cracking the wall behind her, and Inmoon gave a cry of pain at the surprise attack. Dracula's wing membranes fanned out beside her as he leaned into the curtain he had constructed. She snarled back into his face and he hit her across the snout with a blow that echoed through the, thankfully, still empty hallway.

"You dare come into _my _home and say such things to me." His voice had grown dangerously quiet. "I have my reasons for whatever I do. I have given you no reason to doubt me in the past why do you doubt me now?" Through all of his physical fierceness tears streamed down his face. "Don't you ever speak of my dear Martha, _my wife _Inmoon, as if I have forgotten what happened to her that night. As if I have been able to erase her _screams _from my memory. I will _never forget!_"

His wings retracted and folded themselves into more comfortable but still open positions on his back and he stepped back from her. Her wounds healed almost instantly but her head was bowed and eyes downcast in what he knew to be a show of submission and remorse for her cruel words. His physical features did not change as he simply stared into space.

"I know what it feels like to lose love Inmoon." He said. "I will not put such a curse upon my own daughter. I want nothing but her happiness, and if her love lies with a human then I will not force her away from him."

He heard Inmoon's startled gasp behind him.

"He is a good man of this I do not doubt. If you harm him Inmoon…." He couldn't finish the threat but she knew it was not an empty one.

"I'm sorry Vlad. I….I didn't know that him a…and Mavis had…..zinged. It must be painful for you to smell that distinctly _human _smell in your sanctuary, your safe haven. It scared me, Vlad, smelling that here. I thought that a….hunter" Drac stiffened at the very word and a clicking rattle sounded in his chest, she laid a comforting hand to his shoulder and the sound disappeared. "had gotten in somehow. I traced the scent to the boy but he was talking with you. I knew then you had let him in but I did not yearn to know the reason why. I allowed my anger to control me and I am sorry. You have my word I will not hurt the boy."

His features softened back into the friendly face most saw and his wings molded themselves painfully to his back making them wholly unseen, it was a pain he had learned to live with constantly. He had begun hiding his wings in an effort to remain hidden from humans and so no other monsters had seen them, or his more fearsome form. He despised the limbs on his back just another reminder of what he was and why he had lost Martha. They were hideous things, _he _was hideous.

"His name is Johnny." His voice was soft and sad. "You could meet him if you want, he won't hurt you. He wouldn't hurt anyone….I think."

"You still have doubts?"

"He is _human _Inmoon. I will always have doubts. I will always be afraid of them, of him. I wish I could just run away and hide whenever I catch his scent. Sometimes I do, and no one can _ever _know. It would break Mavis's heart to know that and it would hurt Johnny deeply. He is a gentle soul, too gentle to live a monster's life but it is the one he has chosen."

He waved his hand and the tears in his suit were sealed and the cape resettled perfectly onto his back. With another wave of his hand Inmoon's own cloak was repaired and a silence settled firmly into place.

"So, _movie night_?" Her confused expression was so comical he laughed. "Not funny Vlad." She growled warningly.

"Heh, forgive me my friend. Sometimes I forget that you are more distanced than I am. A movie is a book where you watch the story instead of read it."

At her look of sheer wonder he doubled over laughing. She snarled and kicked him in the hip half heartedly. He stood up with a look of mock hurt on his face. She stuck her tongue out at him. He poked her on the nose. She flicked his ear and he would have retaliated but by that point in time neither one could hold back their laughter and fell into an embarrassing giggle fit.

"Why do I always have to come visit you huh?" She asked as she readjusted the necklace of long thin teeth around her neck, each one with several symbols and markings seemingly carved into it.

"Because until now I have had a daughter to look after and you are too much of a hermit to even meet her."

"Yeah, I guess that does present a small problem doesn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it did."

His use of the past tense didn't go unnoticed by Inmoon and her silver tail began to wag behind her. But before anything else could be said, he suddenly turned, grabbed her, and launched her into the rafters. Her claws dug deep to find purchase and she scrambled through the wood and stone support beams to find a proper perch.

Dracula carried on waking and less than a minute after he had thrown Inmoon into the rafters Johnny and Wayne came running around the corner behind them. He turned around and faked surprise at seeing them.

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_More than a Few Minutes Ago:_

Everyone sat and impatiently waited for Dracula, the group had noticed him lagging behind but they figured he wouldn't skip out on something his little Mavy-Wavy wanted him to do so badly. It was, after all, she who had come up and initiated the conversation that led to this impromptu monster movie marathon.

"I'm sure he just got hung up by the maids or the enchanted armor suits, both, or something else. We'll just go find him." Frank told her as he rose from his chair.

Everyone shuffled out of the room to look for, as Griffin put it, "that stupid workaholic control freak". Everyone was a little annoyed with him, but he really did need to learn a bit more about taking days off, or relaxing.

Johnny found himself wandering down the same path he had taken to get to their home theatre room when he heard what sounded like yelling echoing through the corridor. He slowed his pace a bit, he didn't want to wind up in the middle of two monsters having some kind of argument. He still continued walking down the hallway. He stopped altogether when he heard the slam of flesh to stone and the loud crack of rock. He heard a snarl and another powerful sounding blow followed it and then there was an eerie silence. He quickly found a suit of armor and told them to find Wayne or Frank, or somebody and then he ran back to see if maybe he could do something about the fight going on.

He ran back to where he had been and continued cautiously from there, he even took off his shoes just in case it was better he go unseen. He was pretty good at being sneaky he discovered, alright Mavis had totally given him ninja lessons but still! As he got closer he heard a voice filled with absolute rage, what's worse was that he recognized it. It was Dracula and he wisely chose to stay hidden around the corner at the end of the hallway. He grew still and listened to what was being said.

"Don't you ever speak of my dear Martha, _my wife _Inmoon, as if I have forgotten what happened to her that night. As if I have been able to erase her _screams _from my memory. I will _never forget!_" The only reason he heard Dracula's dangerously threatening voice was because of the echo the vast hallway created.

Johnny was certain he shouldn't move now. Who was Dracula talking to that had him so angry and dared to talk to him about Martha like that? Johnny felt his own blood boil at the thought of someone suggesting that Drac could ever forget his wife. He had seen the love the vampire still held for the deceased woman first-hand, and the pain he still felt.

Where was that suit of armor with somebody who could handle this? If the fight got out of control he couldn't do anything about it. He quickly returned his attention back to the conversation around the corner and found that the situation had cooled dramatically.

"I know what it feels like to lose love Inmoon." He said. "I will not put such a curse upon my own daughter. I want nothing but her happiness, and if her love lies with a human then I will not force her away from him."

It sounded as if this person was Drac's friend but Johnny had never heard anyone mention the name Inmoon before. It sounded strange, even for a monster name. Now he was uber confused.

"He is a good man of this I do not doubt. If you harm him Inmoon…." Drac grew angry and threatening again but his voice choked as if he couldn't bring himself to finish such a threat.

This person _was _Drac's friend. He had heard him threaten more than a few monsters and Mavis had told him even more stories about her father's anger, when he was _truly _angry that is. Johnny could tell that this was one of those times to be very afraid of the Undead King.

"I'm sorry Vlad. I….I didn't know that him a…and Mavis had…..zinged. It must be painful for you to smell that distinctly _human _smell in your sanctuary, your safe haven. It scared me, Vlad, smelling that here. I thought that a….hunter had gotten in somehow. I traced the scent to the boy but he was talking with you. I knew then you had let him in but I did not yearn to know the reason why. I allowed my anger to control me and I am sorry. You have my word I will not hurt the boy." The voice held the same ancient accent that Dracula's did but the voice was strong, smooth, rich and very feminine.

"His name is Johnny." His voice was soft and sad and in turn it made Johnny sad. "You could meet him if you want, he won't hurt you. He wouldn't hurt anyone….I think."

Johnny's heart plummeted, think? What did Drac mean think? Of course he would never hurt anyone here. How could Drac think of him in such a way? Johnny found himself trying not to cry.

"You still have doubts?" Inmoon sounded very surprised, Johnny didn't even know why he was still listening.

"He is _human _Inmoon. I will always have doubts. I will always be afraid of them, of him. I wish I could just run away and hide whenever I catch his scent. Sometimes I do, and no one can _ever _know. It would break Mavis's heart to know that and it would hurt Johnny deeply. He is a gentle soul, too gentle to live a monster's life but it is the one he has chosen."

At this point Johnny walked away as quietly as he could and back to his shoes. On the way he tried to process the information he had just overheard. It left him….well he wasn't sure how he was feeling.

Dracula was that afraid of him? He was afraid enough to run away at catching his scent, to _hide_? He remembered a few times they had been unable to find Dracula for periods of time but….could Dracula have been hiding from him those times? He understood that the vampire cared for him but that didn't take away the hurt.

He had already had a few "therapy" sessions, as he called them (more like confessions of outright fear) from pretty much every monster he had come across and he had been able to lay their fears about him to rest. With more than a few of these talks to Wayne, Frank, Griffin, Murray and their wives under his belt they had all told him that they felt much better about having him around.

Once he reached his shoes he slipped them on casually and kept walking.

But Dracula had never seemed afraid of him. With the others they all had little tells and sometimes he had just asked them outright. He had never felt the need to try and do the same with Dracula. The Vampire had never jumped at his out-of-the-blue shouting and had never turned to run when he was racing down a hallway toward him. Dracula had been nothing but kind to Johnny.

Now he felt guilty for not realizing that Dracula too was still very much afraid of him though, just like everyone else, he didn't want to be.

"Johnny!" Wayne's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Where's the fight?"

Oh yeah…he had sent a suit of armor to fetch the others. Well, since things had quieted down Dracula was sure to hear them coming.

"About time but the yelling and stuff stopped. It's this way though." So, Johnny took off at a run back down the hallway.

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_Congratulations, You Are Now Up To Speed:_

"Hey yo Drac!" Wayne yelled. "Johnny here says he heard a fight after we went out looking for you. Sent a suit of armor to come get us and said the fight had gotten physical."

Dracula looked only slightly startled….at least to Johnny anyway.

"You okay Drac?"

"Nonsense Wayne I am fine. Now, what is this about a fight? I have not heard anything."

"Have you gone deaf Drac? If Johnny heard it-" Wayne stopped mid-sentence as his nose twitched and he leaned around the Count whose eyes had widened ever so slightly. "Drac, how could you not notice that?!" His clawed hand pointed behind Dracula and directly at a small crater in the wall, spider-webbed with deep cracks.

Now the Count's eyes were noticeably widened as he stared at the indentation he had made in the wall when he shoved Inmoon into it. Just a love-tap really and she knew it. If he had really been wanting to hurt her she would have been thrown clean through a couple of walls.

"And whose scent is that? I've never smelled this scent before."

Johnny had to do something for the poor Vampire, give him some time to think up a proper explanation. Fortunately, he was unintentionally providing a perfect out for himself.

"Dracula?" That time the Vampire _was_ visibly startled by his voice. "Dude, you don't look so hot. All the color is coming back into your face. It's kinda worrying me man I think you need to lie down." It worked.

"Man, you're shaking like a leaf." Wayne's attention was drawn to Dracula and his sickly demeanor. "Have you drunken anything today?"

At Dracula's vacant look and stumbling over beginning a simple sentence Wayne let out a small growl and his shoulders sagged in annoyance.

"Again?" A pause. "Really? You know you make yourself sick when you don't eat and run all over the hotel doing your perfectionist thing, and eventually you start hallucinating. Not in the mood for that again buddy. Let's go!"

With that Wayne snagged the still stuttering Vampire by the back of his cape and began half dragging him back, ignoring the man's protests as he got tangled in the black fabric. It was kind of funny and Johnny would have outright laughed if he wasn't trying to think of a way to talk to Dracula about the whole 'afraid of him' thing. Maybe this time he ought to ask for help. Knowing Dracula he'd shrug off Johnny's concerns and tell him everything was fine.

"We found him." Wayne said as the three passed by a hallway where Mavis, Murray, Frank and Griffin all stood. Their eyes widened at the sight of Dracula, still tangled in his cape, being mercilessly towed behind the very annoyed looking werewolf.

"Hi." Johnny said as he followed Wayne. "Mavis I think you should go get your dad some blood. Been running on empty all day."

"Again?"

"Yup."

"Fut, căcănar, balcoane, curvă!" With a loud shout the Vampire Lord came to a dead halt with the cape still wrapped around his face and everyone openly stared at him. "I am not moving one more step until I can see!" His voice thundered through the hallway.

Wayne just dropped the cape, still staring.

"What'd he say?" Mavis asked confused. "I've never heard those words before."

"Honey…..obviously your dad didn't teach you everything in Romanian." Johnny whispered.

"But what'd he say?"

At this point in time the infamous Count Dracula had finally won the battle with his cape which was settled back into its place behind him.

"I'd rather not repeat it….."

It suddenly dawned on her that her father had been rattling off more than a few curse words and she stared at him for a bit before speaking.

"Alright, yeah….blood, you guys get him sitting down. You can start the movies, I've seen them." With that said she turned into a bat and flew away.

"…Nice going." Frank glared at him.

"Well, it's not like she knew what they meant and she isn't the type of person to just repeat something if she doesn't know what it means. Besides, _you _should not have been yanking my cape over my face!" He jabbed a long talon in Wayne's face.

"Let's just get back you drama addicted idiots." Griffin's voice flew into the fray and everyone quickly agreed.

**ALMOSTDONEIPROMISEIWONDERIFA NYONEISGOINGTOTRYANDREADTHIS **

The laughter in the room was almost deafening.

"Oh my god this is TOO hilarious!"

"Oh his freaking FACE came apart!"

"Why doesn't YOUR face come apart Frank?"

"NOT FUNNY!"

"YES IT IS!"

"Dawwwww dude they knocked you out."

"You know that's not really me right?"

"Shhhhhhhh!"

"Really?"

**A Few More Minutes Into the Movie:**

"BOOOOOOOO! NO ONE LOVES YOU VAN HELSING!"

**On With the Movie:**

"Oh this scene is kinda cool."

"Shhhh!"

"I'm just saying the lines here are awesome!"

"Shut your face man!"

(mumble mumble)

"Really Drac?! Fine say what you want to say."

"…..I've done that."

"….."

"….."

"…."

"Really?

"Pretty much word for word."

"Dance to the beat of their-"

"I said yes."

"That is funny."

"Awesome scene now made hilarious! Thank you Drac!"

**Can You Guess The Movie:**

"That werewolf is pretty mangy looking."

"Hrrmph."

"What's wrong with you?"

"The movie screen is OVER THERE!"

"Tell me Wayne…..at the stroke of midnight does Dracula control you?"

"Wayne…..look deep into my eyes."

"SO not funny."

**I'm Sure the Readers Know What Movie This is Now:**

"Oh my god ALL OF THEM are vampires!"

"Awesome!"

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Dawwww man Drac why'd you have to let yourself get set on fire?!"

"Oh man look look look he is slaughtering that fire breather in the background."

**And a little more.**

"Wayne…..why are you looking at me like that?"

"DO you have a cure?"

"OF COURSE NOT STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR FACE!"

"…."

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"

"….."

"NOT YOU GUYS TOO! STOP IT!"

**Last Bit:**

"Drac…he killed you."

"…"

"I mean he freaking tore out your throat….._killed _you."

"That fight was epic though."

"But, Van Helsing Killed Dracula. That's a suckish ending."

"Man did you see yourself get dusted?"

"…"

"It wasn't even a quick PAF! I mean it was a _slow dissolve_…"

"…."

"Your flesh just kinda…._creeped_ away."

"BOO!"

"AUGH!"

"Not funny Johnny. Dad! It was just Johnny unstick yourself from the ceiling. Frank Johnny that was mean!"

"But it was funny wasn't it?!"

**OOOOOOKAYNOWI'MDONEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

**Geeze! LONG chapter! Well longer chapters equals less stupid timewasting chapters so I'm happy...dunno about you guys. I'll try and get into the plot here in a bit. Hope you enjoyed that last bit. Ever since Hotel T I have not been able to look at that movie the same way. Can NOT watch it with a straight face. Thought you needed some humor to make the drama not so...well grating. Review please and if you want to know what Dracula was screaming you can look it up. BYE!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Wow, why was it so freaking hard to get time on this computer?! Ugh, I'm sorry. I had a bunch of testing yesterday. I think I did well, I passed the math test I know that. Whoot...I hate math. Math is the devil, that's why he's represented by numbers.**

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Okay, so monster movie madness? Total success, it was awesome! Everyone had a good time…..well after the whole search for Dracula thing. Johnny still couldn't get that conversation he overheard out of his head. He didn't know how to broach the subject without letting Dracula know that he overheard that little spat.

He was tempted to ask someone for help, but who? Mavis was out, her dad had been right about the fact that it would hurt her. He wasn't sure if he could trust anyone else with the full information and they would know if he was keeping something from them. Plus there was no way to tell anyone without having to also inform them about Dracula's friend Inmoon. If no one else knew about her yet it was because Dracula had chosen to keep her a secret for some reason or another.

Things were not allowed to be so difficult right now. His head was spinning with thoughts, ideas and all the reasons those ideas wouldn't work.

It was odd walking around the hotel during the day, when not a soul was in sight but Johnny couldn't sleep. He had to find some way to fix this. He wandered for hours as he thought and all sense of time escaped him and he would have continued like that had the ringing of his phone not echoed through the hallway. He jumped and fished it out of his pocket, continuing to walk as he answered.

"Yo."

"Hey dude! It's Lawrence and the rest of the old band is here too!"

Johnny winced and held the phone a small distance away from his ear as the four people shouted their greetings into the phone.

"Wow, I like haven't heard from you guys in forever!" Johnny's mood lightened considerably.

"Yeah, I know right! Anyway me and the rest of the band totally went to film school together and we were watching the news. We saw what happened in Transylvania dude, totally righteous! We like, couldn't believe it dude! They're real! Anyway, we're coming over to the hotel to film a documentary! I know awesome right!? We'll be there by sundown man! Can't wait, see ya dude!"

Oh this was bad, this was very bad!

"Hey, wait Lawrence dude!" Johnny tried to talk him out of it but the only thing that greeted him was a dial tone. "Dawwwww man…..What do I do now?"

The monsters were still getting used to having Johnny around, and now his friends were going to be here? Filming a documentary?! Oh no. He ran to a window and threw open the curtains to see the sun already sinking closer to the horizon. Sundown would be in less than an hour. A cold panic settled in his gut as he quickly closed the curtains and took off through the hotel at a dead run.

"DRACULA!" His slightly panicked voice carried through the empty corridors of the hotel.

He bolted up to the Vampire's room as fast as he could and threw the door open with a resounding boom. He flipped around and slammed the doors closed drenching the room in darkness.

"Dracula!" He could barely see the vampire's coffin illuminated by the sparse candlelight scattered around the room.

It was odd watching the centuries year old monster wake up. The man never startled awake, his eyes would just open and he would sit up after opening the coffin lid. Johnny waited a few seconds for Dracula to open the coffin lid and sit up. He could barely see the white fingers curl around the bottom edge of the coffin lid. The long nails reflecting the candlelight eerily. There was no groan from the coffin lid, it slid open silently. He sat up slowly, long fingers curled elegantly around the edge of the coffin and his bare pale chest gave him a ghostly appearance in the darkness.

He turned his head to look at Johnny, his normally neatly combed hair was mussed and his eyes reflected the dim candlelight like a cat's, two beacons of blue in the surrounding shadows.

"Johnny?" He asked as he stood from his coffin, placing bare feet on the floor and looking at the boy with a confused expression. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Johnny held up a hand as he gasped for breath, the run up here had stolen the air from his lungs. As soon as he had regained his breath he spoke.

"I just got a call from my old band. Drac, they're coming here! Tonight!"

"WHAT!?" Oh he was definitely awake now. "What do you mean they're coming here?! How do you know this?!"

"They….kinda called me."

"And you didn't tell them to go away!?"

"I didn't get the chance dude! Lawrence hung up on me."

With a flick of his wrist Dracula was dressed and his hair combed neatly. He leaned heavily against his coffin after closing the lid and sighed heavily.

"Why are they coming here? What do they want?"

"Hey, chill Drac. They're not going to hurt anyone, and I wouldn't let them anyway. They said they wanted to film a documentary about you guys."

There was a long pause, the weight of this new information settling on Dracula's shoulders.

"When will they be here?"

"Lawrence said sundown but probably a little after the moon rises knowing him. He's always a little late."

"…..Then we have to prepare everyone."

He straightened and moved to the door. Once he exited into the hallway he found a suit of armor and ordered him to begin waking up the guests and have them come down to the lobby. He had to warn them, more humans showing up could cause a panic and he had to take measures to prevent that. Maybe set up security, both for the monster's safety and for the safety of the humans.

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_Location: Unknown_

Inmoon hated this place, she hated coming here, the horrible cold and darkness seeping into her bones was the worst feeling she had ever felt. If you listened hard enough here you could just barely hear the furious screeches and a steady pounding like drums in the deep corners of this evil place.

But she could not abandon her duties as Gatekeeper so she pressed further into the suffocating cavern.

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Dracula put on a calm façade as he stood at the top of the stairs attempting to quiet the frightened guests. They had quickly spiraled into a slight panic before Dracula even had a chance to fully explain.

"Calm down everyone!" He shouted. "There is no reason to panic. These humans will harm no one I will make sure of this! We all knew this was going to happen when we allowed Johnny to stay."

"When will they be here Drac?" Murray asked.

"They will be here by nightfall. They are Johnny's friends," Johnny waved at the monsters from his hiding place behind Dracula. All you saw of the man was a waving hand and then it promptly disappeared. "and are filming a documentary. Security will be updated and no one will harm them. I don't want an incident that could rekindle the humans' anger toward us."

It took some time but eventually the guests settled down and accepted the idea, they were still nervous but they were no longer in a panic. Dracula paced the room trying to think of something to make the night less stressful for everyone. A chaotic night wouldn't help matters much at all so what event could he organize that could be easily controlled.

"How about a dinner?" Griffin's voice broke through his thoughts. He turned to look at the glasses confusedly. "You that oh-god-what-do-I-do look on your face."

It really was scary how well Griffin knew people. A dinner sounded great, so he moved off to get one set up as fast and efficiently as he could.

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_Location: Unknown_

The firelight only illuminated a small bit of the immense cavern Inmoon was in and she drank in the warmth of it before beginning the ceremony. She took her knife to her palm splattering the blood around the fire and herself in a circle before flicking the last on the fire and allowing the wound to heal. She took various plants, bone dust and animal parts holding each to her painted face and whispering a chant before tossing them to the flames. She threw sage, ground deer antler, hawk talons, ox hoof, nightshade, a tooth akin to those around her neck, and human blood to the flames as she chanted and rocked.

The cavern vibrated and pulsed from the energy of her ceremony. She swayed this way and that to her rhythmic chanting as her own voice seemed to overlap itself and the world around her seemed to spin away. She threw her head back and gasped opening eyes that had become a swirling storm of purple. As the cavern thudded with every beat of her heart the reason she came here appeared before her.

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Okay, everything was in its proper place, the tables were set in the dining hall, a room was set aside on the far end of the hotel with suits of armor stationed there, and Johnny was helping to prepare a few human dishes. Even though it seemed everything was going to go off without a hitch, Dracula had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going to go wrong tonight. He was terrified, though he would admit it to no one.

There was something nagging at him, some instinct in the back of his mind screaming at him to take everyone and run, run and hide and be quiet. He did his best to ignore it but he couldn't push the feeling away completely.

Instead he focused on doing his job and making sure everyone in the hotel was comfortable and that everything was running smoothly. He had just managed to work himself into a somewhat calm state when Johnny's friends arrived, huge smiles decorating their faces and a good sized camera in tow. That human smell hit him like a smack in the face but he choked down his hiss as he and Mavis went to welcome them to the hotel.

The four were shown to their rooms and informed about the dinner being held, Johnny showed up and the room got pretty noisy pretty fast. Johnny introduced Mavis and decided to give everyone the grand tour. Dracula, of course tagged along. He wasn't about to just go off and leave his daughter with a group of _humans_ he didn't know!

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKI 'MSOSLEEPYPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Inmoon ran, down on all fours she ran with a cold panic in her belly urging her to move faster with every second. Pure fear filled every corner of her mind as she ran so fast her surroundings were naught but a blur. Only one coherent thought made it through the panic and it consumed her.

"_I have to get Vlad. I have to tell Vlad. He'll know what to do."_

She would be at his hotel within the night and she could only pray that she had discovered this fast enough to fix it. Fix it or warn people and help them hide while she and Vlad and everyone else fought those things again.

They were the only things in existence she was truly afraid of and she begged everything in creation that she did not have to face them again.

But all she could do was run as fast as she could.

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**Well now we get into the plot. GASP...there's a plot to this?! Why yes there is! AMAZING! Please review guys and I'm sorry for the late update, and shorter chapter. **


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay this is where the story picks up. Geeze it feels good to sit down and write again. Sorry guys I've been getting my but whooped by a lot of different things.**

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The dinner was tense to say the least, though Dracula had done a good job at keeping everyone from panicking and it was a bit of a relief to be able to sit and rest. So, he sat at the table leisurely sipping on a wine glass of blood substitute and listened to the excited chatter rattling around the table from their new guests. Apparently the group of them had quite a few interesting adventures since Johnny left to travel the world.

Jonny's friends were slowly making their way around the table running through interviews with everyone there. The only thing that had gone wrong so far was when Lawrence, the idiot he was, tried to light up a cigarette. Emphasis on _tried_. It took forever to calm poor Frank, and then more time to set up the dining hall again. Lawrence felt pretty awful about that, though Gemma just kept telling him it was awesome footage.

Dracula was crazy paranoid; he was more on edge now than he had been in hundreds of years and it wasn't from the humans. That feeling, the need to run, to just leave everything take everyone and run and hide. The itch had grown in intensity until it was no longer an itch, it was a burning need. He could feel it in every fiber of his being and he was afraid. He wanted to know why he was so afraid. He hadn't felt fear such as this since…..no. No it couldn't be that. Not…._that_.

There was no need to think of them, the nameless ones, They of the Void, the devouring evil that never slept and never grew full.

He was done with that and would never again dwell on such things, for thinking of an impossibility was useless.

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With a great leap Inmoon flew over the canyon that separated her from the massive hotel that her dear friend Vlad had created. Her blood beat loudly in her ears as her mind filled with horror. She steadied herself on all fours as she looked up the tall stone wall of the hotel. Her ears twitched as she found the sound of the dinner and she ignored the scent of humans, which were not Jonny. Her claws dug deep into the stone fortress and she scaled the outside wall, she quickly found a window and crawled in.

She pulled her cloak close to her body and carefully entered the hallway. She followed her nose to find the dinner party and peeked through the red curtain into the vast room.

Her purple eyes grew wide at the sight of even more humans gathered at a table holding strange devices that Inmoon didn't bother to try and decipher. She leaped into the rafters and kept her cloak close so her silver fur didn't reflect the candlelight. Being as quiet as she could she prepared to do what she came here to do.

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Dracula's mouth was dry, his tongue swollen like cotton, and his mind racing. Every sense was enhanced more than usual, it got that way when adrenaline raced through his cold veins. He focused hard on the need to keep calm and stay in control. His vision switched and swapped and he did everything he could to keep them looking human.

He looked at Jonny, at Lawrence and Gemma and the rest of the humans but the only thing he saw of them was their blood filled veins and their beating hearts and he lost the battle to see more of them than that. He saw straight through their flesh and bone and that human smell became…..enticing.

His mind was screaming at him to attack, to feed. He needed the strength that human blood gave him for the fight. But…..what fight?

His fight or flight response was taking over. The feeling was taking over but he had to control himself. He took another drink of the blood substitute in his glass and it suddenly tasted foul. Like rotten meat. That's not what he needed, what he needed was sitting at the other end of the table.

One bite, just one bite couldn't hurt. Could it? He wanted-no-_needed_ it. He wouldn't kill them, no. He could control himself. He was Vladislav Dracula after all. He was Shadow itself.

_Plunk_

Something fell in his glass and finally drew him away from the strange instinct that overtook him. Now he was even more scared than he had ever been. He almost lost his control and that had never happened. If he had attacked, no one would have been able to stop him, not even himself. He would have killed them all.

He lifted the glass to his lips and allowed his tongue to lengthen and sweep through the drink. It looked like a long, leisurely sip. The forked tip ran into a small capsule, a silk cocoon, he wrapped his tongue around it and drew it into his mouth. He tasted it carefully and then bit down. Immediately a voice echoed in his head.

_I do not have the time to explain in this way. You must leave somewhere no one can see you so that I may speak of what has happened._

Inmoon.

Suddenly Dracula grew annoyed bordering on angry. This was an important meeting, no matter how unimportant the guests were. This meeting was the key to gaining a positive relationship with the human world. Whatever Inmoon wanted it would have to wait.

He stiffened and calmly placed his wine glass back on the table and tilted his right ear toward the rafters above him whilst placing half of his attention on the conversation in front of him. Jonny was being interviewed now and he was telling them the story of how he first came across the hotel and met Dracula and Mavis. The Count couldn't help but smile at Jonny's impersonations of everyone.

"Vladislav, I know you can hear me." Inmoon whispered as loud as she dared from the rafters.

Dracula sighed.

"Vlad rub your right ear if you can hear me."

Dracula casually did so.

"I knew it! Now, find a way to leave the room or I'll come down there and have this conversation with you."

Dracula took a long sip from his glass.

"Vladislav, I've never met any of these dear friends of yours and you _know_ how I _love _to make an impression."

He nearly choked on his drink at that and set it down quick as he could as he shot up out of seat sending his chair to the floor.

"I…um…need to go…take care of something. Everyone just enjoy yourselves." He stuttered out nervously with a mixture between an apologetic smile and a pained grimace on his face.

He righted the chair and, with a burst of inhuman speed, ran out of the dining room and right into Inmoon sending them both crashing into a housekeeping cart. Everyone left at the table turned to the sound of the crash and watched as a Witch Maid suddenly got a horrified look and rushed behind the curtain screaming her apologies to Dracula.

They all laughed and returned to their interviews.

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After magically drying himself, Inmoon, the floor, and resetting the cart he quickly shooed away the witch and waited until she was out of sight with her cart to signal Inmoon out of her hiding place. She had immediately jumped into the rafters again to hide after pushing Dracula off of her.

"What is it now? This is a very bad time Inmoon."

"The seal is breaking. The seal on the Gate we made to hold them. The Gate with no name so as to take away the power of a name so no one could hold power over it."

"…WHAT!?"

The dining hall ran silent.

"WHAT DO YOU MEA-mmmph!" Inmoon quickly silenced him by clamping a hand over his mouth.

They waited a few tense and very silent moments until the conversation in the other room started up again. They waited even longer until the room's noise level increased a bit more.

They pulled their eyes away from the curtain and back at each other.

"What do you mean its breaking?" He hissed.

"I mean its breaking as in not going to work soon as in kaput, as in _broken_."

"Inmoon you know what I mean! How could the seal be breaking? That's impossible."

"I don't know Vlad but I saw it for myself and we don't have much time. The seal will break tonight and Sorry Night is approaching fast. _They _will break through, and just like last time there will be nothing to hold them back, to force them back into the void. We have to fight again."

"You're certain of this?"

"Of course Vlad."

"They've tricked us from beyond the Gate before. What if that's what this is?"

"You can't possibly tell me you haven't seen the omens. Omens of a doom fast approaching. The images in fire, a feeling of pure terror, the need to do nothing but run and hide. A sudden thirst for human blood. I've felt this! You went farther than any of us and if _I_ can feel it then I _know_ that_ you _can."

Dracula fell to his knees as the knowledge of what they must face again hit him and stole away his breath. Inmoon fell down beside him as her adrenaline rush faded and weariness settled on her shoulders.

"Open the vault Lord Dracula."

"We will need to do more than last time if we want to bind them permanently. We cannot risk this again. We cannot risk They of the Void ever truly breaking free. To run the world unhindered and unstopped. It is a thing unthinkable."

"What?" Frank's suspicious voice sounded out behind him.

Dracula leaped to his feet and spun around to lay wide eyes upon Frank, Murray, Wayne, Griffin's glasses, Jonny, Mavis and all of Jonny's friends. Camera still running and pointed at them.

"Who is that?" Wayne pointed to Inmoon who seemed to be trying melt into Dracula's back.

He looked back at her with a mild glare and bumped her roughly with his elbow. She gave out a pained grunt and stepped out beside Dracula, her cloak brought close and hiding everything.

"Dad? What's going on? What were you talking about? What did she mean?" Mavis's bright blue eyes bore into him and suddenly he froze.

He didn't know what to do. Should she know? Didn't she have a right to know what was coming? Didn't they all?

But they had sworn themselves to secrecy after the fact. They could talk about it with only each other, only the six of them were ever to know. That was the vow.

Now he didn't know if he could keep it.

Inmoon snarled at him and that snapped him out of his thoughts.

"And Drac, what did she mean 'thirst for human blood'?" Dracula's eye twitched, leave it to Griffin to ask that question.

"Its all…_very _difficult to explain." He stumbled over his words.

"Difficult how? Drac if the blood substitute isn't working like it should-"

Inmoon quickly cut Frank off.

"The point my dear old friend is trying to make is that we have to go. Now and you do not need to know why."

Dracula slapped a hand over his eyes and hung his head.

"Of course we need to know why!" Frank yelled. "From what we heard something is seriously wrong here. The least you can tell us, Drac, is how long you'll be gone." He looked over her to address the Count.

"Indefinitely. Goodbye."

Dracula couldn't help but wince at that.

"Oh no! You are not leaving here until we get some answers!" Frank roared and everyone else threw in agreements as they advanced on her.

"Oh just try and stop-yipe!" Inmoon yipped loudly as Dracula grabbed her by the hood of her cloak and yanked her backwards off her feet.

"There is no way in hell I am allowing you to start a fight with my friends." He hissed at her when she had regained her balance.

Everyone else just stood staring at her, and Wayne couldn't help but be afraid. Silver was the color of death after all.

"This," He waved toward the group. "is why _I _do the talking! Not you, never you because I can do people and you can't. So, shut your face before you make this worse. I can't imagine how it could get worse but I'm certain that _you _could accomplish that!"

"This is awesome James, keep rolling get everything." Gemma whispered to the black haired man holding the camera.

"Drac, I think its explanation time." Murray said.

"Not one word." Dracula hissed angrily at Inmoon then turned back toward the group. "Unfortunately Lady Inmoon is right-not a word-" He jabbed a finger in her face. "I have to go. You cannot come with me. I do not know when I will return and we promised to tell no one about this….specific…situation."

"Promised?" Jonny asked.

"Well…..it was more of a…..blood oath."

"WHAT?!" Was the collective response.

"Well, time's a wasting gotta go now bye bye!"

Both him and Inmoon took off down the hallway leaving a stunned group standing there for a few seconds before the rest of them took off after the two. Jonny and his friends fell pitifully behind the chase.

"Oh, so _that _was your grand master plan Vlad!? Nice going!"

"Shut up and run!"

"They're right behind us!"

"I KNOW!"

"Dracula get back here!" Wayne shouted.

"You're in trouble." Inmoon giggled.

"I am not above hitting you."

The two of them rushed through the hotel and into his room. He lifted his coffin and threw it across the room pushing a stone into the ground as he did so. A spiral staircase opened up that descended into blackness. Inmoon remained while Dracula raced down the stairs. In a few seconds he was back and dressed from head to toe in armor. Not metal armor, instead it was bone. The armor fit snugly and seemed to melt itself to his shape. The staircase closed the moment he was back.

They ran as quickly as they could for the front door but Frank and Mavis had thought to take everyone there first to try and stop Dracula from leaving. Jonny apparently thought to go there before the others because there the camera crew was, filming everything.

"Dracula, I think everyone deserves and explanation." Jonny was ever the peacemaker.

"I think so too but you aren't getting one and no one is coming with us."

"Why not?"

"Because dying is a rather high possibility."

"Whoa whoa! Drac, buddy if you think that we're going to let you go-" Dracula cut off Frank with a shout.

"ENOUGH!" His shout sounded more like an animalistic roar.

The bone armor rattled as a pair of massive wings stretched out from his back. Everyone gasped in surprise and quickly the bone armor moved to protect his wings. The top sections of his wings were left open where his own bone protruded from the flesh to form sharp blades that could cut through nearly everything.

He extended his wings as fully as he could and when he looked back at his daughter his eyes were pitch black and his voice seemed to be the same voice whispering and speaking at the same time. His teeth lengthened, all of them, and it was horrifying. But he still looked sad.

"I am sorry Mavis but I have to go. I am uncertain if I will return and if I do not then I am truly sorry and, though I know I have no right to ask anything of you, I request that you care for the hotel and I ask that you rule our kind in my stead. I Love you my dear and that will never change. Goodbye."

Before anyone could react he flapped those massive wings sending out a gust of wind that blew out all of the candles and torches that lit the lobby sending the room into darkness for a few short seconds.

By the time the magical charm that relit the candles kicked in, Dracula and Inmoon were long gone.

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**There we go. I'd love to know what you guys think. Hope you enjoyed and please review. Until next time see ya!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Wheeeeeee! Sleep hates me again. So here ya go! I proofread it a lot. If you find a typo I'm sorry.**

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"_Consaluto ab Corviscordis. Consaluto ab Bimaris indomitus. Consaluto ab Cratera polleo. Consaluto ab Tellus aeternitas, nostri Regina beneficus. Consaluto ab Anima asperatis, adsecula ab nostri Amplus Basilicus ab Cunctus Servator."_

The steady rhythm of voices pounded and thrummed power through the freezing night air. The wailing and screeching grew louder and louder as blood splashed across the ground but the Six stood strong and never weakened. Their voices rose and the runes on the stones surrounding them pulsed with a strange light.

"_Consaluto. Consaluto! Accipio nostri Amplus Dynastes! Accipio nostri oro ab vas. Datum nostri vestertra divinitas. Suemus, ab Columna mendico vas! Suemus, ab Columna adoleo."_

The shrieking in the blackness pierced through their bones bringing pain beyond imagining, but they stood fast as blood filled their lungs and they remained starved of air long past the point where they should have died. The crimson bubbled and flowed past their lips but their voices rung clear. The stars went out and the night became black. A few short seconds of deep black occurred and then the lands were bathed in a red glow when the moon began to bleed. Each one spoke their lines in turn.

_"Ab Tellus."_

The ground crackled and came alive around them. The earth moved, and reached, and screeched at the evil. The lands and all animals of it fought beside them now.

_"Ab Aqua."_

The sea laying at rest below the ledge they stood on took form and beat itself upon the mountain to reach them and drown the evil it came across. All manner of sea life circled the island calling to the six upon the mountainside.

_"Ab Inigmus."_

The mountain burst ash and flaming stones hurling them on the enemies and never harming the six sacrifices that rested on its side. Lava formed around them and hardened into a firm rock wall that evolved into a dome. The evil pounded on the rock but it would not yield. The Pillars were safe to focus and finish.

_"Ab Anima."_

A great gale rose up outside the dome and lifted rocks farther, flew fish higher, helped animals run faster. Inside the dome the air twisted and swirled around the six. Blood flew into the air seeming to turn it red. The floor, the sides of the shield formed around them, and the stones around them, the Key Stones, turned red with blood. Two began to speak as the rest focused their powers.

_"Ab Divinitas Occulo." _

A new power thrummed through the air and the evil beat themselves upon the rock, growing more desperate as each second passed. The last two spoke their lines in turn.

"_Ab Spiritus."_

A great glow flowed from the six, each color unique to the person. The colors took shape and a voice of their own as they flew with the wind swirling inside the dome.

_"Ab Opacus."_

A great black shadow rose from the center of their circle, swirling and twisting violently. Each of the six shapes formed from their auras dove into the blackness and it violently exploded out of the top of the dome. The violent tornado of shade, swirling with the colors of their auras, sucking in water, lava, earth, and air as it climbed higher and higher. The six voices pierced through the noise and became everything in the night and yet nothing.

_"Suemus adoleo. Suemus, ab Columna oppignero noster. Accipio nostri. Accipio nostri! ACCIPIO NOSTRI!"_

With that final deafening cry the ground inside the circle crumbled away taking the flame, shadow, rock, water, aura familiars, and the great gale that had arisen. The evil was pulled down and the mountain tumbled down around them. There was a great explosion that sent the six flying away from the crumbling mountain and laying in a thick puddle of their own blood.

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Dracula shook his head free of those thoughts, he forbade himself from ever thinking of that again or fear would take over and he would hide throughout everything to come. But he still couldn't push the thirst away. His mouth was dry and he needed to feed. He knew what he needed but he had promised himself that he would never do that again. The blood substitute took hundreds of years to make and worked just as well. He no longer had a need to hunt. No longer had a need for human blood, and he didn't like to kill. He hated it, because killing without mercy was the sign of a true monster.

His wings carried him through the cool night air and he breathed deep the scent of the night. Below him Inmoon had shed her coat and placed it in her pack and she was keeping perfect pace with him. Her silver fur sparkled beneath the light of the moon and he thought what he always thought when he saw her like that.

_"She's so beautiful."_

He felt horrid every time he thought that, he felt like he had betrayed Martha who was loyal to him throughout their long marriage. She was loyal, and sweet, and loved him with everything that she had often times more than she had. How could he do this to her!? He tore his gaze away from Inmoon with a snarl and focused on the horizon. He could keep track of her just fine by listening to her footfalls below him, which had suddenly stopped.

He looked down and saw her standing in a small opening in the trees. He turned and circled her in an attempt to figure out her intentions. She looked up at him and waved for him to land. He closed his wings and dove into the clearing, unfurling them just in time to slow his fall and land gently on the forest floor. It was safe to stop now. They were a good distance away from the hotel now and there was no way that anyone would be able to track Inmoon. The Werewolf was the only one that knew how to leave no trace on the ground she walked upon. Hell, anyone who could track Inmoon deserved some kind of award; he'd think one up later.

"You can't keep your promise." She told him, she seemed….hesitant.

Interesting. He tilted his head in question.

"You _need _human blood."

"No." He turned away but she grabbed his wing and held on despite the blood dripping from her palm.

He gave her a hiss as he turned his black eyes on her.

"Cut it out Vlad. You know that human blood puts you at full strength. You're faster, stronger, you heal. You can't be killed by a stake through the heart, your allergy to garlic is gone, they can't even cut off your head to kill you! You need human blood!"

"I said no Inmoon! I'm done with that. It's why I created the blood substitute!"

"But it's just that Vlad, a substitute. It can't give you everything the real stuff can. All that does is quench your thirst and slowly weaken you!"

"I don't care!"

"Well then I'll care for you Lord Dracula! You cannot be weak! Not now! You don't have a choice and I'll do what it takes to make you feed!"

He glared at her, a fearsome look and the shadows grew deeper, darker and they hissed at her.

"I know you regret that night Vlad." She stared into his coal black eyes. "You lied and I know it. I know you scared yourself, you terrified yourself and now you're too disgusted to look at yourself. That's why you cursed yourself and took away your reflection. That's not going to happen again. You must do this and after this you won't have to anymore. You won't have to kill."

"I killed them all Inmoon." His voice was a whisper and the shadows retreated back into the forest. "Every single one of them because I couldn't control my anger, my_ hatred _of them. They acted like animals and I slaughtered them like animals! Not just the men, but the women, and the children! A whole village and I killed them without a second thought! I killed for the sake of killing not because of a hunger!"

He turned his gaze away from her and stared at the stars sparkling in the sky.

"I learned that night what a true monster is, and I became one."

"You were angry Vlad, you were weak." She gently turned his face back toward her. "But most importantly. You. Were. _Wrong_. Killing for the sake of killing can be many things. You were in a blind rage. You didn't laugh at their deaths but instead you mourn the people you killed. You _regret _it. Regret, Vlad, is something monsters don't do."

A long silence over took the pair and they simply stared at the grass beneath their feet. The silence was a heavy one but it was comforting as well.

"Alright." Dracula whispered. "Alright you win. We will hunt."

Inmoon simply nodded and ran toward the nearest village as Dracula took to the skies once more.

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He circled high in the sky in his chosen hunting grounds and if he focused hard enough he could just barely see her making her way toward her hunting arena. She agilely scaled the small mountain range and disappeared over its peak. Once there were no distractions left he closed his eyes and breathed deep the scents of the night.

There were cattle and various farm animals. He could smell cars and dogs. He smelled humans and he focused on that. His vision turned into hues of blues and greens and he looked for the red spot that marked a living being.

He flew faster and found a small gathering of campers by the mountain. It wasn't a breach on Inmoon's territory either; her's was on the other side of the mountain.

He rose even higher in dark sky and picked out the perfect target. This needed to look like an animal attack or things could turn very bad very fast. There was a fight among the campers. A man had pushed his wife into their camper in a fit of rage. Two other men ran to her aid and quickly succeeded in driving him away.

He wouldn't be coming back.

There were stargazers and nature enthusiasts scattered everywhere. They had cameras with night vision and stargazers had telescopes. The sky was a clear one and someone would notice if he attacked from the sky. So, he banked wide and landed a fair distance downwind of his prey. He ran with silent ease through the brush and in a matter of minutes was within eyesight of the man. He could hear the man's heart beating in his broad chest. Dracula could smell the blood flowing through his veins.

He circled and waited for the opportune moment. Thought's raced through his head. How could he be doing this again? He swore he never would! But the thirst drove all of those thoughts away and quieted them to the barest hint of a whisper. He settled low to the ground and didn't move.

The man turned his back and Dracula leaped, his palms wrapped around the man's neck and he felt it snap on impact. It didn't kill him, just paralyzed him so he couldn't struggle or scream. It had been a perfect strike. Dracula crouched over the body as a flashlight beam broke through the thick underbrush and passed by. He rose up slowly and grabbed the man's ankle. He dragged the man a fair ways up into the mountains using his magic to ensure that his broken neck wasn't further injured.

Once he was sure that he was far enough away he stopped and gave the air another sniff. He smelled a pack of wolves and that couldn't be more perfect. He lifted the man and bit into his neck. The moment Dracula tasted the blood a kind of frenzy took over. He had forgotten how delicious human blood tasted, the richness of the flavor and the strength that surged through him. He drank the man dry and when he looked up he could see the wolves lingering as close as they dared. He stared at them and they backed away. He smiled, stood, and turned his back on the body.

He heard the pack tear into the body immediately. He guarded them as they fed until there was enough eaten away that the wolves could drag him further into their territory. He swiped at his jaw with his index finger and lapped the remaining blood off of it. He walked calmly to a clearing and flew into the sky with a single stroke of his powerful wings.

He found Inmoon quickly enough and landed next to her. She had found her own kill and was gorging herself on the meat. Her snout, chest and hands were coated with blood. She snarled at him and he laughed. Bones snapped beneath her powerful jaws and that tongue went to work lapping at the marrow. She grabbed hold of the skull of what used to be a man and ripped the tongue out. The eyes went next then she tore open the stomach and devoured the organs inside.

When she had eaten her fill he raised his hand and, after she gave a nod, cleaned the blood out of her fur with a wave. He took flight again and they continued to travel until sunrise when they found a large burrow and, after making it a bit roomier, settled down to sleep.

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**I promise this is more than a filler chapter. Hope you enjoyed the character development. Until next time see ya!**


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